Questions? 866.755.8581

8 Day Tour from Rome to Rome

Vacation Overview

This trip will show you the highlight cities of Italy, covering all the notable features from St. Peter’s, the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum and the Forum in Rome to Michelangelo’s David and the cathedral in Florence, and St. Mark’s Basilica and Doges’ Palace with the Bridge of Sighs in Venice. Local Guides in these cities will answer all your questions. Also included are: special welcome and farewell dinners with wine at lively Roman restaurants, a stop in Pisa to admire the Leaning Tower, and a stop in Romeo & Juliet’s Verona to see Juliet’s balcony and the Arena. Also taste a traditional gelato in Florence, and enjoy a tortellini lunch in Verona. And in Venice, a gondola serenade has been included as a special introduction to this romantic city, as well as a private boat ride and a glassblower demonstration. Scenic rides will show you the Tyrrhenian coast, the Lombardian plains, the flat Po area, the wooded Apennine mountain range, and Tuscany’s Chianti wine country.

ROME Welcome and farewell dinners with wine at a local restaurant; guided sightseeing, visit the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Square and Basilica, the Colosseum and Roman ForumPISA Marvel at the legendary Leaning TowerFLORENCE Guided walking tour, visit Michelangelo’s David and Signoria Square; taste a traditional gelatoVERONA Walking tour including Juliet’s balcony and the Arena; tortellini lunch at a local restaurantVENICE Gondola serenade; private boat ride; guided walking tour, visit St. Mark’s Square and Basilica, Doges’ Palace and the Bridge of Sighs; glassblower demonstrationFERRARA Walk along Este Castle to the cathedralHeadsets throughout the tour

DAY 2Rome

Enjoy Globus’ unique guided sightseeing, including inside visits to all highlights of religious and ancient Rome: the VATICAN MUSEUMS and SISTINE CHAPEL with Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings and The Last Judgment, monumental ST. PETER’S SQUARE and BASILICA to admire Michelangelo’s Pietà, the amazing COLOSSEUM, and the ROMAN FORUM, where Roman legions marched in triumph. To make the most of your stay, join our optional Roman Highlights excursion, and see the sites and squares of medieval Rome made famous in the movie Angels & Demons. (Breakfast)

The Roman Forum

"Visitors can be a little confused by the Roman Forum; at first glance, it is a rather lifeless array of marble fragments. But we must remember that in ancient times, this space was far more than the temples and monuments whose ruins we can explore today. It was filled with bustling, noisy life as the popular crossroads of the city – the predecessor, in fact, of the modern Italian piazza. Every morning at dawn, average Romans would escape their cramped, dark apartment blocks (called insulae, or “islands”) and spent their days outdoors. "

Vatican Museums

"In the early 1500s, Rome was full of neglected ruins from the days of the ancient Empire, which still contained artworks buried amongst the rubble. The Renaissance had seen a sudden growth of interest in all things classical, and the popes – cultivated men who were in touch with the intellectual currents of the day – were the richest art collectors in Italy. They began offering substantial cash rewards for any sculptures, until Rome was scoured by freelance treasure hunters on the hunt for pagan masterpieces. The most dramatic discovery occurred in 1506, when a Roman father-and-son team of excavators reported a promising find near the ruined Baths of Titus. The artist Michelangelo himself excitedly hurried over to help with the work, followed by the pope’s official agent, Guiliano da Sangallo. When the excavators brushed away the dirt of 1,000 years, they found an enormous marble sculpture, perfectly intact, of a muscular Trojan hero being attacked by giant snakes. Guilano cried out in amazement, “This is the very Laocoön described by (the ancient Roman author) Pliny!” The sculpture was carted off to the Vatican Museum."

[CULTURAL]

DAY 3Rome–Pisa–Florence

Follow the Aurelian Way along the Tyrrhenian coast and enter Tuscany. In Pisa, take the traditional picture pushing back the amazing Leaning Tower, then continue to Florence, “Cradle of the Renaissance.” Tonight is your chance to try out local specialties on an optional dinner outing to a fine Tuscan restaurant. (Breakfast)

Pisa

"It was the most perfect experiment in the history of science. Holding both a cannon ball and a small musket ball, the 30-something Pisa native Galileo Galilei scaled the steps of his city’s famous Leaning Tower, and held them dramatically over the edge. Eight stories below, the town’s most learned scholars and priests were gathered as observers. They watched as the two balls dropped to the ground at the same speed – disproving, with a single stroke, the ancient idea that objects fall at different rates depending on their weight and size. This archaic concept, which had been espoused by the ancient Greek author Aristotle, had been accepted without question for more than 2,000 years, Galileo’s great innovation was to put it to a practical test of observation. Unfortunately, this famous story is probably not true. Galileo never wrote about it himself – it was recounted in a late biography penned by his secretary, Vincenzo Viviani. Most historians now believe that it was Galileo’s imaginative disciples who invented the Leaning Tower tale in order to make the theory so clear that even a child could understand it. "

DAY 4Florence

Guided sightseeing features a visit to the ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS to see Michelangelo’s celebrated David. Admire the magnificent marble cathedral, Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistry’s heavy bronze “Gate of Paradise,” and sculpture-studded SIGNORIA SQUARE. Taste a traditional gelato. (Breakfast)

La Piazza Della Signoria

"What’s the best vantage point to ponder the most illustrious town square in Florence, the Signoria? An outdoor table in the venerable Caffè Rivoire – preferably over a delicious, if not painfully expensive cioccolata con pane, a dark and mud-thick hot chocolate. Late at night, when the crowds have gone, you can search the long shadows and imagine that very little has changed here since the 1400s. The Signoria is the most elegant sculpture garden in Europe. Masterpieces include the splendid Neptune Fountain by Ammannati, Hercules and Cacus by Bandinelli and a precise copy of Michelangelo’s David, all strategically poised in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. This grand public space has been the centerpiece of Florence since the 15th Century, the golden age when the city was established as the most beautiful in Europe. Eminent merchants in their ostentatious finery met here to discuss business in the midst of Florence’s raucous daily life."

[CULTURAL]

DAY 5Florence–Verona–Venice Island

A special visit to Verona, medieval setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Take pictures of Juliet’s balcony and rub the shining breast on her statue for good luck. Next, admire the Arena, an incredibly well-preserved pink marble Roman amphitheater, where gladiators used to fight. Built in the 1st century AD, it is now the magical venue for world-famous opera performances. Enjoy a tortellini lunch at Rubiani restaurant on lively Piazza Bra. Arrive in Venice, a powerful magnet for romantics and art lovers from around the globe. A traditional GONDOLA SERENADE has been arranged for you as a proper welcome to this fascinating city. (Breakfast, Lunch)

[STORIES]

[CULTURAL]

DAY 6Venice Island

Start the day in style by PRIVATE BOAT and meet your Local Guide. Highlights of your walking tour are ST. MARK’S SQUARE and the byzantine BASILICA, lavish DOGES’ PALACE and the BRIDGE OF SIGHS. Also watch a skilled GLASSBLOWER fashion delicate objects in an age-old traditional manner. Afterwards, enjoy Venice at your own pace or join an optional cruise to the charming island of Burano. (Breakfast)

Venice

"It is no accident that one of history’s greatest explorers, Marco Polo, came from Venice. His hometown had been Europe’s gateway to the East long before he set sail in 1271; the influence of the Orient could be seen in its art, its fashion and its architecture, creating, in the words of one historian, “the most colorful, sumptuous, and sensually bewitching civilization that history has ever known.” Thanks to Venetian conquests in the eastern Mediterranean, the 17-year-old Marco had the first leg of his travel route mapped out for him – he was able to island-hop through friendly territory as far as Constantinople, from there he was seduced by China for more than 20 years. When Polo returned to Venice in 1295 as a bearded and vaguely Eastern middle aged man, even his relatives did not believe he had been in China the entire time."

Bridge of Sighs

"The world’s most poetically-named bridge, Il Ponte dei Sospiri, the Bridge of Sighs, was built in 1614 so that prisoners of the Venetian state could be transferred in secret from the Doge’s Palace to the so-called Nuovi Prigioni, or New Prisons. The wistful name was actually conceived by the English poet Lord Byron in the early 1800s that imagined the horror of prisoners taking their last glimpse of Venice before going underground to captivity. "

[CULTURAL]

DAY 7Venice Island–Ferrara–Rome

A scenic drive today through the lush plains of the mighty River Po to Ferrara. Stroll past imposing Este Castle to the marble cathedral before continuing to Rome across the wooded Apennine mountain range, past the vine- and olive-clad Tuscan Hills, home of the popular Chianti wine. This evening, a special farewell dinner with wine at a local restaurant awaits you as a proper “Arrivederci, Roma!” (Breakfast, Dinner)

DAY 8Rome

Transportation

Motorcoach with free Wi-Fi; boat ride in Venice

Full buffet breakfast daily; 1 special lunch in Verona; 2 three-course dinners : special welcome and farewell dinners in Rome

With Globus, there’s no better way to get to know your destination than through the eyes of your Tour Director. Averaging over a decade... we’d like you to meet a Tour Director, who is representative of the type of expert that will be with you on your vacation.

ANNE PALMER PUCCINI

Years of Experience: 37 years

As a veteran Tour Director, I find no other destination as stimulating and exhilarating as Italy. Here we have something for everyone--ancient ruins, delicious cuisine, breathtaking scenery, vibrant cities, amazing art, and more. Join me so you can absorb and understand the multi-faceted nature of this country without any of the difficulties, pitfalls, and time-wasting often encountered by individual travelers. I look forward to meeting and welcoming you to my beautiful country.

Four Ways Globus Eliminates the Hassles

VIP Access
Skip the lines and get special treatment at the must-see attractions.

Perfect Hotels
We’ve done the work to find just the right hotels in just the right locations.

Tour Directors
Take your heads out of the guidebook and let expert guides make every destination fascinating.

Tour Italy, England, South America, or the world on an escorted vacation. Globus, part of the Globus family of brands, has been the leader in escorted tours, travel packages, and river cruises for more than 85 years. More About the Globus family of brands